Life as a gangster in Japan just isn't as fun as it used to be
A number of theories have been put forward on the reasons behind the 2015 split of the country's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Some say the factions that left the organization and formed a group called the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi were egged on by the police, ...
Japan's crime syndicates are shooting themselves in the foot
Japan's organized crime syndicates appear to be embroiled in something of a power struggle. Yoshinori Oda, who heads a splinter group that left the Yamaguchi-gumi called the Ninkyo Yamaguchi-gumi, was attacked as he left his house in Kobe on Sept. 12. Oda's bodyguard, Yuhiro Kusumoto, ...
Gangsters prefer to do things by the book
Japan's gangsters esteem tradition and prefer to do things by the book. As a result, they appear to love manuals — they have manuals for committing certain crimes as well as guides on how to avoid punishment for carrying out those crimes. Lately, however, ...
Are crime syndicates in Japan sitting on a gold mine?
The Japanese underworld loves gold — it has been the analog bitcoin of crime syndicates in recent years. The origins of gold are difficult to trace, and the material is easy to convert into cash and store. Crime syndicates are increasingly smuggling it, stealing ...
Kobe yakuza boss served fresh arrest warrant over gang scuffle in Kyoto
The head of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi gangster group was served a fresh arrest warrant Friday in connection with a scuffle at the office of a different yakuza group in Kyoto in January. Kunio Inoue, 68, heads the breakaway group of yakuza formed in 2015 by ...
Brazen heists suggest that crime syndicates may be back in business
Last month, three masked robbers grabbed a suitcase stuffed with cash from a businessman who had just withdrawn the money from a bank in Fukuoka. The businessman is believed to have been planning to use the ¥380 million ($3.5 million) to buy gold. In December, ...
Fuji TV reporter who allegedly bought car for yakuza also suspected of lending money: police
A Fuji Television Network Inc. reporter who allegedly purchased a luxury car on behalf of a man connected to the underworld is also suspected of lending millions of yen to the mobster, police officials said. The 32-year-old male employee, who was relieved of his reporter's ...
Police raided a public hospital in the city of Kyoto Tuesday in relation to the alleged helping of a senior member of a crime syndicate stay out of prison by the forging of a certificate of illness. A doctor at the Kyoto Prefectural University of ...
Former yakuza member handed suspended jail term for baseball gambling
The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced a former member of a Japanese crime syndicate to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for taking bets on baseball games involving former Yomiuri Giants players. Yoshimasa Sakai, a 37-year-old former member of an affiliate of ...
Yamaguchi-gumi henchmen make Kobe kids an offer they can't refuse: Halloween candy
The Yamaguchi-gumi underworld group distributed candy and other snacks to children as Halloween gifts near its headquarters in Nada Ward, Kobe, according to the Kobe Shimbun. The regional newspaper quoted investigative sources as saying that members of the nation's biggest crime syndicate handed out bags ...
One year on, gang splinter is tough to explain
More than a year has passed since the country's largest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, split into two. More than a dozen gangs defected from the Yamaguchi-gumi on Aug. 27, 2015, to form the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, headed by Kunio Inoue, as a rival syndicate and, ...
Okayama police arrest Kodo-kai member in connection with fatal shooting
The Okayama Prefectural Police have arrested a member of a crime syndicate in connection with the recent fatal shooting of Tadashi Takagi, a senior member of the Ikeda-gumi faction of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. Hideyuki Yamamoto, 32, a member of the Kodo-kai, one of the top ...
